Page 89 of Wild Ride

So I tell her.

“Love you, baby.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

DAKOTA

TWO WEEKS LATER

Standing in front of Willamette Haven again feels surreal. I honestly thought and hoped that I would never find myself here again. Briana’s fingers lace with mine. I’m glad we were able to put all of our differences of opinion and drama aside. The cross-country road trip was what we needed to solidify the fact that we are family and love one another.

Her hurt and anger are not mine or Bishop’s. They are hers. And while she’s still not excited about the situation, she’s also accepting of it now. I feel more at peace than I ever have. And at the same time, even more sure that Bishop was and is meant to be mine. Curated, made, and saved for me by my father.

We stand in front of the commune. I feel differently about this place now, about the people inside. This was my home for years, a place where I felt somewhat comfortable. I had no ideathat they were hurting children the way they were. That these men who were my “uncles” were abusing girls. I feel disgusting. I feel like I am just as guilty as they are.

“This is not your fault. You had no idea. And even if you did, you were a child yourself,” Briana whispers.

I press my lips together. I hate that I spoke out loud what I was thinking. It just feels like extra salt in Briana’s wound. I am not the victim here. She is. But she doesn’t seem the least bit angry, at least not at me. She squeezes my hand again as she continues to stare straight ahead at the building in the distance.

Shocker slides up to my side, his palm on the small of my back. “So this is it?” he asks. “Your mama ran off and brought you here?”

“She did,” I whisper.

He clears his throat and lets out a snort. He doesn’t say anything, though. He doesn’t need to. I already know that this place is bullshit. Now that I’ve seen the rest of the world, now that my eyes have been opened, I agree with Shocker’s snort.

This place is bullshit.

“Let’s burn it to the ground,” Shocker announces.

Briana laughs softly. “Yes, let’s.”

The bikers have surrounded the compound grounds. Briana has told them where and how to enter the property with the least visibility. Shocker, Bishop, Briana, and I are entering through the front door.

Briana squeezes my hand, then releases her grasp as I feel Bishop’s body behind me. Wordlessly, the four of us make our way up the long drive. The main house of the compound is hidden from the street’s view.

Usually, there would be guards at the end of the road, much like at the Vicious Reapers’ clubhouse, but today, there is no one because today is the first Saturday of the month, and that meansall hands on deckin the meeting room.

That’s why we chose today to walk onto the property. They are all in a single room. Most likely naked by now. The beginning of the meeting is normally where they talk about the previous month, who did what, and then they go over expectations for the rest of the month before they have an orgy.

I always left before their clothes came off and hid away in my room.

Briana and I fall behind Shocker and Bishop as they reach for the front door. We both suck in a breath as we reach for one another’s hands again, lacing our fingers together as we follow behind them straight to the back, where we told them the meeting room is located.

We can hear voices at the back of the building where the meeting room is. They grow louder with each step we take. The second they open the door, the voices cease. Almost as if the entire room of people can instantly sense our presence.

Everyone is sitting around in a circle. This means that the meeting is almost over, and they’re just getting ready to start massaging one another. That will be innocent for about five minutes, then clothes will start to make their way off.

I’m glad we came in before anyone was naked. I’ve seen all these people naked enough in my life.

“It seems we have some visitors,” the leader calls out from the sharing circle as he rises to his feet.

He doesn’t seem scared, even though I’m pretty sure that he needs to be just that. If he knew how many men were surrounding this building, he would be shitting his pants. But I stay quiet. Trying to keep hidden behind Bishop’s body. It doesn’t work.

The leader sees me. Almost as if he is homing in on me and just me.

“Dakota,” he purrs. “Our sister has returned,” he announces.

Which is the absolute wrong thing to say to Bishop. His back straightens almost instantly. His shoulders square, and then he moves forward. One step, then another before he stops. Flicking my gaze down to his hands that are loosely held at his side, I watch as his fingers twitch.

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